Friday, December 6, 2013

Well Ashland,
I hope you are well-rested from your Thanksgiving celebrations, because
Christmas is alarmingly close. Pull down
those decorations and get those ovens warmed up! It’s always at this time of year when I ask
myself, “Why didn’t you start buying Christmas gifts in July?”

We enjoyed a wonderful Holiday concert and tree lighting
recently at the Hanover Tavern, courtesy of the PatrickHenryHigh School’s Madrigal
Choir. With their new director this
year, Carol Ann Dickerson, these talented kids are giving some outstanding
performances. You can catch them next
week at the PH Christmas Concert at the school, Tuesday (12/10) and Wednesday
(12/11) at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $5 and
are available from any performing arts teacher at PH or at the door.

The Hanover Concert Band will
present two concerts of Christmas music in December to close out their 24th
year as "Music Ambassadors for HanoverCounty". This
Saturday, December 7th, at
noon, they will perform at the Virginia Center Commons food court. In addition
to the program of Christmas favorites old and new, they will present a special
musical tribute to the men and women who were at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
on that "Day of Infamy" in 1941. If you can, please bring a donation of
non perishable food for the Central Virginia Food Bank.

Then on Tuesday, December 17th, you can catch the band
at 7:00 PM at the Hanover Arts and ActivitiesCenter. This will be a
Boston Pops style concert of Christmas Music with table seating available, and beverage
and food treats to enjoy throughout the show. Again, donations of non
perishable food for the Central Virginia Food Bank will be collected.

Stay tuned for lots of great
musical events from the Concert Band as they will be celebrating their 25th
anniversary in 2014! There are plans to feature local musicians in the concerts
and present special commissioned concert music written by VCU Jazz Studies
head, Antonio Garcia.

This weekend at the Ashland Firehouse Theater, Louise Keeton
and the Whistlestop Theater will be performing “The Gift of the Magi” Friday
and Saturday, December 6th & 7th. Tickets are $5 each and you can reserve your
seats at whistlestoptheatre@gmail.com
(please provide your name, and indicate the day, time, and number of tickets
requested). This is a show for the whole family! Visit their website: www.whistlestoptheatre.com to
learn about this troupe’s exciting opportunity in NYC!

Next weekend, the films will return with “Elf” on Saturday,
December 14th. The show
starts at 7:00 PM, and I believe that tickets are $2 each, but this is a
fundraiser for the Patrick Henry Model UN, so please come support this great
group of kids. The Firehouse Theater is located at 201 S. Duncan Street next to the Rescue
Squad in Ashland
and across from Town Hall and the Farmer's Market.

I have the perfect gift for everyone: an Ashland
gift certificate! VisitTown Hall
to purchase a town gift certificate which can be used at thirty-eight different
businesses! You could use it for books,
pecans, a rake for all those leaves, honey, or some old fashioned candy.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

I am putting this column to bed early this week as we all
scatter to the corners of the map for Thanksgiving. I hope that there are lots of big dinners
planned in town. It funny, but I
honestly don’t like leaving Ashland
for any holiday. It always seems like we
should be here, maybe because holidays are more fun in our sweet town, don’t
you think? Whether it’s Easter, the 4th,
Thanksgiving or Christmas, I think we always have the perfect setting for
celebrations.

Resist the urge to get up early on the 29th and save
your shopping for Small Business Saturday in the Center of the Universe! If you sit down with your gift list, I know
that you could find everything you need right here.

Speaking of which, AshcakeGardens
will celebrate Small Business Saturday with lots of sales and specials. Visit their website for special offers and
coupons. I have heard that their
selection of Christmas trees is superb this year; www.ashwoodgardens.com.

If you don’t know what to buy, visit Town Hall to purchase a
town gift certificate which can be used at thirty-eight different
businesses! You could use it for
jewelry, chicken feed, a hair-cut, furniture, or dinner out. It may be the perfect gift for everyone.

There are two opportunities to see theater productions in
town this holiday season. As always,
Randolph-Macon will be showing Charles Dickens ‘A Christmas Carol” at the
Blackwell Theater December 6th through the 8th. There’s more information on the RMC website:
www. rmc.edu/academics/drama.

Also, our own Louise Keeton and the Whistlestop Theater will
be performing “The Gift of the Magi” at the Firehouse Theater December 6th
and 7th. Tickets are $5 each
and you can reserve your seats today at whistlestoptheatre@gmail.com(please
provide your name, and indicate the day, time, and number of tickets
requested!).

Do you have student in grades 4th through 8th
who loves the stage? Sabrina Lacoss, a senior at PatrickHenryHigh School, is producing
a Reader’s Theatre production of “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare for her Girl
Scouts Gold Award project, and she is looking for cast members. Rehearsals will
start December 3 for two weeks, and the performance is December 19 at 7:00pm at
the Center. Interested parents should call the Hanover Arts and ActivitiesCenter at 798-2722.

Do you know what I am thankful for? A newspaper column, an editor who lets me occasionally
write about ridiculous things, and, of course, readers who think it worth their
while. Call or email me
with your Ashland
news: 310-5320, ashlandnews@gmail.com. Happy Thanksgiving!